J. Crew vs. Nordstrom – #StoreWars Semis

April 5, 2013 By Joe| Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Also, we take your privacy rights seriously. Head here to learn more.

STORE WARS: J. Crew vs. Nordstrom

Starting March 19th and running through April 8th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2013. For a full introduction see this post. The bracket on the right will be updated as the tournament progresses. Click on it for the full size. Make a case for your preferred competitor in the comments section, but don’t forget to vote at the bottom of each match up. On with today’s showdown:

Strengths: The leader. Out of all of the competitors, J. Crew has most likely had the most influence on how a guy’s clothes should fit (and therefore look) in the 21st century. And they’ve done a hell of a job. Esquire recently summed it up this way: “Everyone Wears J. Crew“. The construction of their suits and blazers is phenomenal, and if you catch a sale, a fused-suit budget can snag a piece of the canvassed & quality-chest-piece high life. Their “in good company” curation and collaborations with brands like Red Wing, Danner, Billykirk, and Barbour. Their slim fit section trims up their already well fitting stuff for those who are on the real slim side. Many of their own in-house shoes are made in Italy with stitched soles. Their outerwear, like the Mayfair Topcoat and University Coat.

Weaknesses: Prices. They’re up there, and a lot of their goods are just flat out of reach until they hit the sale section. Sometimes it feels like they take themselves a little too seriously (see how soaring and over the top the language can get in many of their item descriptions). The price of their Quartz watches. Dress shirts can get expensive. The heck is Wallace & Barnes anyway?

Strengths: From their website to the in-store shopping experience, Norstrom is top of the line while still remaining mostly accessible for affordable-minded shoppers (even if a lot of us wait for their Anniversary sale and Half-Yearly Sales for Men). Their selection of brands is terrific. Meanwhile, house brands like 1901, Calibrate, and plain ol’ Nordstrom always have something good going on. Their policy of free shipping and free returns, no minimum, eliminates that risk of shipping dings and return charges. While selection can vary by market, they seem to push some solid stuff the way of their outlets, Nordstrom Rack. For an all around department store experience in the 21st century, Nordstrom seems to blow the competition out of the water, all while remaining mostly affordable if you’re patient and wait for sales.

Weaknesses: They are on the top end of the price spectrum for most of us. They’re not Barney’s by any stretch, but you’re not going to find many suits for $250 there either. Despite a perpetually stocked sale section online, sale events that include much more of their normal goods are very, very infrequent. The few affordable blazers that they offer come from their house brands, and those usually come with too-short-for most tails. Suit selection is just flat out expensive.

Are they different quality levels though? All of the stuff I’ve gotten from Factory seems to be on-par with the regular J. Crew stuff in terms of construction and materials.

I always viewed Factory as a “J. Crew staples” store. It’s not going to have too many fashion-forward pieces, but if you’re looking for a good, slim button down (or a basic suit, or basic ties, or basic khakis, etc…) at a good price, it’s the place to go.

That being said, on a site like this, where being frugal and getting the most bang for your buck are stressed, I see Factory winning this thing.

^^This. J Crew makes half canvassed suits from Italian well-known wool. They sell cashmere sweaters, 120s 2 ply shirts, and feature “in good company” brands. These can all be expensive but when they go on sale, can be attainable luxury. Factory sources less expensive fabrics and do tend to stick to basics. Contruction may be similar, however. Many garments are made in China.

This actually makes for a great final, so long as you can get past the fact that both stores have “J Crew” in their name. In the finals, the real question will be: do you prefer (1) cutting-edge fashionable, high-quality but expensive stuff that you can maybe afford every so often on deep discount, or (2) do you prefer good-but-not-great quality, decently fashionable but attainable stuff? It’s a good question.

Except for the JCF Thompson suit, there isn’t one thing I’ve purchased at JCF that I ended up liking or keeping. This includes polo’s, rugby’s, and casual button down shirts. I think they do suiting well, but for other items it is such a noticeable downgrade from J-Crew/Banana Republic/Bonobos … etc quality that even with the discounted amount I find it isn’t worth it because I’ll end up not getting a lot of utility out of it.

Well since I often find things I like at J Crew, but never find anything that I can buy, and I see things at Factory (which is new to me, thanks Dappered.com), that I not only like, but can afford, and that they have in my size, not only do I perceive a difference, it’s a crucial difference. Since this site is all about affordable quality, I think Factory has the edge here. Of course affordable means different things to different people, so I guess we’ll see.

Results this year are kinda whacked out – I agree J. Crew vs itself is kinda silly. It’s the same brand essentially, I don’t even really consider them separate stores. I’m not surprised J Crew is winning it all this year but I don’t think this is necessarily one of their best years. Everything they sell is distressed now which is kinda whack – you can’t buy character but they sure are trying to sell it.

Agreed. At first, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of J. Crew vs. J. Crew Factory, but it’ll be really interesting to see who wins. Yes, the same name. But to me? Really different (yet has some similarities at the same time… I think they’re unique in the retail world)

This will officially eliminate all my stores. No need to vote for the anticlimactic J. Crew vs J. Crew match up tomorrow tomorrow. With everyone fawning over all things J. Crew on this site, pretty much everyone could see this coming.

That’s like saying since Gap and Banana are part of the same company that they should not be included as separate entries. They aren’t the same store. Have you ever been in a J Crew Factory? In case you haven’t, it’s not just a place where they send all of their old clearance stuff. it’s a separate store with different price points and similar style. I bet you wouldn’t even bring it up if JCF were called something different.

Haha, I’m not to crazy about the J. Crew matchup either. BR is my personal pick. But JCF would be a close 2nd or 3rd for me. They’ve got my vote personally. If bonobos was slightly cheaper, they could of been a stronger contender. Plus they take forever to restock.

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